Al Seckel

Cognitive neuroscientist Al Seckel explores how eye tricks can reveal the way the brain processes visual information — or fails to do so. Among his other accomplishments: He co-created the Darwin Fish.

Why you should listen

Al Seckel takes great delight in visual illusions and the brain mechanics that they reveal. A cognitive neuroscientist who until 2005 was at the California Institute of Technology, he is the author of many books and articles and has compiled several eye tricks calendars. Seckel has designed interactive museum exhibits around the world that allow visitors to play with illusions and understand how they work.

He is a noted lecturer, a member of the Edge Foundation, a founder of the Southern California Skeptics, a campaigner against the teaching of creationism in public schools -- and co-creator of the Darwin Fish. Since leaving Caltech in 2005 to pursue writing and his own research, he has continued his work in spatial imagery with psychology researchers at Harvard.

Can you reverse her direction of rotation? Cognitive Daily at ScienceBlogs took a reader poll and found that two-thirds saw the silhouetted woman rotating clockwise. About the same number were able to reverse her direction. Those who initially saw the woman rotating counter-clockwise found it easier to reverse her direction — much as the Necker […]

Filmmaker and animator David O’Reilly (who came up with the concept for iHologram) has noticed an interesting property in this animated GIF: He writes: While working in 3D last year, I discovered this optical illusion: A large grid seen rotating at a certain speed will appear to group itself into smaller grids, spinning independently. See […]